Sunday, September 27, 2009

22 Yea, he that arepenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good bworks, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be dgiven to ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

Charity focuses on love. You do it because you are like God to some degree.

Sunday School

The symbolism of building the Salt Lake Temple is like our life. They buried the foundation of the temple to protect it from what they fear the army would do to it. They found when they redug the foundation that the stones they had used were not holding. They had to redo it with stronger stone.

Do we learn about our foundations as we go through trials in our lives and have to rebuild them with stronger materials? Do our testimonies get buried at times and we have to spend time digging them out.

Elder Oaks quoted, "You can’t be a life saver if you look like all the other swimmers on the beach." (Ardeth Greene Kapp, I Walk by Faith (1987), 97)

From the Bulletin:

"Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair result, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and shape of it is determined largely by our attitude." (Elder M. Russell Ballard)

Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best — better than does God. Or at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable." (Elder Neal A. Maxwell)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I was sick and not at church today, so this is all I was able to gather:

From the Bulletin:

"I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith." President Thomas S. Monson, "Be of Good Cheer", Ensign, May 2009, 80 — 92.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Share with our wives the challenges we are having to give them the opportunity to fill their role as our help meet and support. Allow her to share the same with you that you may also fulfill your role. Listen to her. Listening while driving, reading a book, watching TV, or working on the internet do not always count as having listened. Often you must look directly in her eyes engaging her so she feels you have taken in what she has said and not just heard it. Trying to fix what she is sharing should be only as prompted by the spirit or by her.

"What more can a husband do to support his wife, the mother of their children?

"First, show extra appreciation and give more validation for what your wife does every day. Notice things and say thank you—often. Schedule some evenings together, just the two of you.

"Second, have a regular time to talk with your wife about each child’s needs and what you can do to help.

"Third, give your wife a “day away” now and then. Just take over the household and give your wife a break from her daily responsibilities. Taking over for a while will greatly enhance your appreciation of what your wife does. You may do a lot of lifting, twisting, and bending!

"Fourth, come home from work and take an active role with your family. Don’t put work, friends, or sports ahead of listening to, playing with, and teaching your children."

One of the wives in the ward shared these pieces of advice to be shared with us in the lesson:

•Listen, and empathize, don't try to fix
•Strenghten her with your testimony
•Counsel with her
•Be a patriarch
•Do the dishes (or whatever housework she hates most!)
•Give her a break
•Express confidence in her as a mother and wife
•Notice what she does and say "Thank You"
•Offer a proper perspective, "reality check"
•Walk through trials together, hand in hand, with the Lord
•Send her love notes (text, email, phone calls, voice mail)

Our mortal lives are a journey to the promised land and all other treks to a promised land are in similitude of that journey.

People led to a promised land

Israelites

Jaredites

Lehi and his family

The pioneers

The pilgrims

DnC 136:19

19 And if any man shall seek to build up himself, and seeketh not my acounsel, he shall have no power, and his bfolly shall be made manifest.

Our selfishness take our power, even if we are not striving for office or power over a large group.

DnC 136:27

27 Thou shalt be adiligent in bpreserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise csteward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art his steward.

Second witness of this is Pres Hinckley, “Our pioneer forebears lived by the adage, ‘Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without’ ” (“I Believe,”Ensign, Aug. 1992, 6)

“I believe one of the gravest dangers plaguing modern American culture is fiscal irresponsibility. Never before have so many had so much stuff and so little freedom. Debt is forcing us to work more and more, stealing from us our precious time as well as our happiness. Money problems are breaking our marriages, our homes and health, and are a prime motivating factor for crime and domestic abuse. Even the destruction of our environment can be linked to our over consumption. For millions debt is turning the American dream into a nightmare.” - The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me - Preface

Doctrine and Covenants 104:78

78 And again, verily I say unto you, concerning your debts—behold it is my will that you shall apay all your bdebts.

From the Bulletin:

"We welcome you to the Sabbath Day. Today, we take time to ponder what we are doing, thinking, saying, and feeling. Among other things, we renew our promises with God to live our lives better this coming week. Let us celebrate our victories and build on them. Let us be honest with ourselves and make simple course corrections so that the Lord may abundantly shower us with blessings.

"This earth life is the time for us to prepare to meet God. Let's not procrastinate. Let us focus on the basics so that our lives may be anchored and not tossed around by every challenge that comes our way. Please seek a personal connection to God and Jesus daily. Please study his scriptures. Pray earnestly, honestly, openly. Fast.

We should not let our hobbies or internet get in the way of our Church or family duties. We should not let our hobbies or internet get in the way of our employment. If we are pursuing hobbies on company time it can jeopardize our employment or cause us to have to work longer hours to make up for the time we used on other things. Those longer hours then get in the way of us doing our family and Church responsibilities.

“No man of himself can lead this church. It is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; he is at the head. …

“He chooses men and calls them to be instruments in his hands to accomplish his purposes, and he guides and directs them in their labors. But men are only instruments in the Lord’s hands, and the honor and glory for all that his servants accomplish is and should be ascribed unto him forever.

“If this were the work of man, it would fail, but it is the work of the Lord, and he does not fail” (President Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Apr. 1970, 113; orImprovement Era, June 1970, 26).

Doctrine and Covenants 107

22 Of the aMelchizedek Priesthood, three bPresiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and cupheldby the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.

23 The atwelve traveling councilors are called to be the Twelve bApostles, or special cwitnesses of the name of Christ in all the world—thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling.

24 And they form a quorum, aequal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned.

Every decision the 12 make as a body is unanimous. Think of how hard it is to get 12 men to agree on anything. Most other bodies only require a majority of one type or another for the vote to be "won".

Things look more clear when looking through the glasses of the gospel.

From the Bulletin:"Someone once said, 'The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.' Please let's invest our time usage among chief priorities and let things that are not eternally significant find room on dusty shelves of 'interesting but not important.' We have covenanted with God to be dutiful, valiant and faithful. He is anxious to bless us. Elder Maxwell, former member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, said this about our faith (paraphrasing), 'To wonder if our faith is strong enough is natural. The father of Elder Bruce R. McConkie, in a situation of stress years ago, prayed for adequacy — the capacity and abilities of Enoch.

The answer to his prayer was Enoch's faith came through personal righteousness. We are reminded in D&C 121 that we cannot CONTROL the powers of heaven except upon the principles of righteousness.'

Elder Maxwell ends with, 'If you and I want to be more effective, we must be more righteous. If we want to have more faith we must be more righteous, and we might just as well face that reality.' (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "Insights from My Life," 26 October 1886. The Inexhaustible Gospel.)

As we invest our time learning and applying truth, repenting, seeking to be more righteous and devoted each day, our lives will become centered, peaceful, confident, and fulfilled even in the face of great stress. I bear witness that this is so.

What can you (I) do today to take 'nice words' and turn them to action?"